Gone
by Authoress in Progress
Summary: The Hardy boys left Bayport for a peaceful vacation, leaving Nancy with terrible dreams predicting the end of their leisurely getaway. Will Nancy be able to save the boys before it's too late? Nancy/Joe
1. Nightmares and Pea Soup

Joe Hardy, the annoying and loud brother had managed to get a girlfriend. Shocking huh? Well, it wasn't that surprising. He was pretty cute, and funny. He was dating a girl named Amber, who had long black curly hair, green eyes, and a slender body. Currently, he was walking her to the door. As soon as she was out of the door he turned around and noticed Frank and I staring at him.

"What did I do?" He asked, hands up. Frank shook his head and said, "Nothing, just surprised that one thought it was cute how you spit Aunt Trudy's pea soup back into the bowl."

The sixteen year old Joe Hardy smiled proudly. "And I'm proud of that."

Frank shook his head with a slight smile. "Come on, Mom and Dad are gonna be home any minute. Might as well clean the place up."

"I can help," I volunteered. Joe nodded his head back and forth, then said, "I think I'm gonna pass. I have to take a shower anyway."

Just then, Fenton and Laura Hardy walked into the house. "Boys, we're home." Laura called out. In a moment, her small figure appeared in the doorway to the living room. "Hello, Nancy."

I waved. "Hey, Mrs. Hardy." Fenton walked in, waving at me. "And hello Mr. Hardy."

Laura smiled at Joe, and wiped something off of his shirt sleeve. "I got news, Joe." He raised an eyebrow, and she smiled bigger. "We're going on a vacation to California!"

Frank smiled a little, looking at his dad. "California?" He lowered his voice. "What about ATAC?" Fenton thought about the question for a moment, and spoke in a soft voice, "Don't worry. I can clear this up. Your mother is starting to question me about all the missions. I don't want her finding out." How did I hear? I was close enough. They didn't worry about me hearing any of this since I kinda figured it out on my own that Frank and Joe work for ATAC, American Teens Against Crime, and were called out onto dangerous missions all the time. Kinda like me, who always gets wrapped up in some kind of mystery.

Frank nodded, and then faced his mom. "When are we leaving?"

"Tonight." Laura answered. "You always leave on school trips so quickly, I thought you two could pack up real quick." She waved her hand. "Go on, boys,"

Joe sighed, and then the brothers jogged up the stairs.

"Ooh, California?" I asked with a smile. "You guys are gonna get spoiled." Laura grinned, then frowned, "Sorry we're not taking you."

"Oh no its fine, you guys need family time." I said. "You four have an awesome time, you hear?"

Fenton patted my back. "We will. I'll drive you back to Carson's."

"Thank you," I said, then got driven back to my home. I am so glad my dad and I moved to Bayport, because now I get to see Joe more. And Frank, why did I forget him? Oh well, I got out of the car as we parked in my driveway. "Thanks, Fenton." He nodded in reply, and then drove off. I sighed and walked inside, my dad hunched over some papers.

"Hey honey." He said, looking up for a moment. "How was dinner?"

"Pea soup isn't that good," I chuckled and walked to the fridge, pulling out a veggie burger. "What are you working on, Dad?" He sighed loudly and said, "Well, I'm working on some paperwork for moving in. Its asking for every payment I made with my credit card. Who knows that?"

I smiled. Oh Dad. He's been complaining about paperwork ever since we moved in about three weeks ago. Its a nice house, fairly small, but it has two stories to make up for it. When you walk in, you see a little doorway to the kitchen, and the only way into the living room is from a door in the kitchen. Other then the doorway to the kitchen, there's a narrow hallway that leads to a bathroom, and then right as you enter there's a guest bedroom. The living room is a fairly good size, and in the corner of the living room is a staircase, and that leads up to the master bedroom, my bedroom, and Hannah's bedroom. And one bathroom, too. Can't forget that.

I bit down into the sandwich, and closed my eyes. Mm, real food. I smiled at the thought of this compared to that nasty pea soup. "So Dad," I began, swallowing my bite of food, "isn't it a little late?"

He looked down at his gold watch and shrugged. "Nine thirty. Isn't it a little late for eating?"

I wrinkled my nose, which my dad really hates. He sighed and got back to his paperwork as I finished my sandwich. I was a little tired, so I headed upstairs and into my bedroom.

My bedroom was a little messy right now, with a couple loose papers here and there, and my desk was slightly cluttered. But thats it. I swiftly straitened up my room, and changed into a tank top and sweat pants. Gotta love pajamas. I smiled to myself and turned the light off, crawling into bed. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep, when suddenly I was trapped in a terrible nightmare.

_"Frank, Joe, get out of here!" Fenton Hardy cried out, looking hurt and terrified. He was bleeding from the back, and was laying on his stomach. Laura was getting pulled out of a vacation house by Frank, who was looking worried about Fenton. "Dad," He called out._

_"Go!" Fenton yelled. Joe ran to his father and pulled him up, his dad wincing and grunting. "Joe,"_

_"We are not leaving you, Dad." Joe said firmly, looking at his dad, then looking at the window. "Everybody duck or get the hell out of here!"_

_A small black ball crashed in through the window, right near a small hole from a bullet, as it hit the ground near Joe and Fenton gas flew out and filled the room. Frank coughed, pushing his mother out of the room, running back in and trying to help Fenton and Joe. "Dad, Joe, come on." He coughed._

_Fenton's eyes started to droop as Frank hauled him out of the gas-filled room, and he soon met up with his wife. Frank looked back into the gas. "Joe!"_

_There was no response, and then a shower of bullets rained in from the window. Frank dropped to the ground, covering his head. A bullet grazed his shoulder, and he dropped down further. "Joe!"_

_"I'm here," Joe said weakly and quietly, his eyes closed. He was coughing weakly. Frank as worried as ever, army-crawled to his voice, the bullets still flying everywhere. He's lucky he hasn't been shot. As he reached his brother, the gunshots stopped. Joe didn't respond as Frank shook him _

_"C'mon, buddy, wake up." The eldest brother said weakly, feeling himself fade as well. He turned to the door, which was now shut. He heard banging on the door, but obviously it was locked. How? Frank asked himself, but shaking it off as he turned back to his unconscious brother. "Come on!"_

_The gas started to thin, but it was still effecting Frank. He tried to hang on, but then his head dropped and he fell unconscious._

"No!" I cried out, terrified. I was breathing hard, like I was running in a marathon, and I was sweating like it, too. My heart was beating fast, and I was shaking. That was real. So real. I put my hands under my eyes, and felt tears. Tears? I tried to regulate my breathing, but it didn't work. I looked around frantically for my phone as my dad ran into the room. "Nancy, are you alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah…yeah, just a nightmare." There was no hiding how scared I was. I looked up at my dad. He walked to me and patted my head.

"Just a nightmare, sweetie." He said, then kissed my forehead. "Get some rest."

I nodded, not wanting to speak. He walked out of my room, most likely to get back to paperwork downstairs. I found my phone on my nightstand and dialed Frank's number. After a couple rings, he picked up.

"Mm, hello?" He asked, sounding groggy.

"Frank!" I cried out, all the emotions I was feeling was in my voice.

He seemed to wake up completely. "Is everything ok?"

He's alright, if he's worrying about my wellbeing. "I was more concerned about you."

"Whats wrong?"

"I had a nightmare, and you and Joe….and Fenton…." I said, having trouble with my words. I rarely have trouble with my words, but I guess I was shaken up enough to have a little trouble.

"Don't worry, it was a nightmare. Joe's fine, Dad's fine, I'm fine. Get some rest, its midnight. I'll call you when I can, okay?" He sounded so calm and collected, it was relaxing.

"Okay. Okay, talk to you later." I said, then hung up. I had a horrible feeling that something terrible is going to happen to the Hardys. I shook my head, scolding myself for having such a terrible thought. Everything is going to be fine. I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.


	2. Memories

I opened my eyes, the sun shining in from behind my curtains. Its been about three days since I called Frank, and he still hasn't called. But I wasn't worrying yet. I yawned and sat up, thinking about going downstairs to greet my father.. I shook my head, then opened up a chest at the end of my bed. Inside, there was my case files, books that helped me solve more then one mystery, pictures I took during cases, knick-knacks I bought during them, and a photo album from the cases I solved with the Hardys.

I pulled out the photo album and sat back in my bed. I guess I just wanted to relax and go through memory lane. Sometimes a girl needs that. On the first page, there was a picture of Frank and Joe in front of an old train, Joe grinning like an idiot and Frank with his arms crossed and looking at Joe, unaware I was snapping that picture at that time. The next, there was a picture of Joe and I sitting on a beach, my lips puckered out and my shoulders near my head, and I was wearing some swimming suit I bought the passed year, Joe wearing swimming trunks, distracted by a little crab that later attacked his finger.

An other picture was Frank reading through a small note, his brows knit together as he tried decoding it. Surrounding him were crumpled up papers of what he thought the note said, a cup of coffee, and his cell phone.

The next picture was a picture of me, glaring at my notebook. Joe found it funny when I was working hard, because I always glared at what I was doing, like I was threatening my clues to mislead me.

My mind began to wander as I flipped the pages. Now only the image and the memories filled my mind.

_"Come on, Nancy, sometimes you just gotta relax and have you picture taken." Joe said, pulling me away from my work. "Joe, we're on a case." I scolded. "Pictures can wait until later." _

_He pouted. "With one 'click!', the picture is done. It takes barely a second."_

_I rubbed my temples. "Joseph Hardy, if you-"_

_"Say cheese!" The blond cried out, grabbing my shoulders and making me face Frank, who held a camera. He didn't look too pleased with what Joe was doing, but apparently the eldest brother gave into his sibling's begging. I didn't have time to smile, and just then the picture was taken, leaving me looking surprised and angry, while Joe had his famous mischievous grin on his face._

…

I wasn't so pleased with the next picture, since it turned out really dark and hard to see.

_"Right there, Nance, is Apollo."_ _Frank said, laying on the cool grass beside me as he pointed at the night sky. The stars…oh, there was so many of them. We weren't on any case yet; we were on vacation in the Colorado mountains, where you could see every star there is without any smog or city lights. It was so beautiful. I've never seen anything like it. The air was crisp and cool, even in the summer, the the cicadas chirping out in the trees, along with crickets and other insects. _

_Frank pointed at an other consolation in the sky. "The Big Dipper. Everybody knows that one." He smiled and pointed at a clump of stars. "Thats Subaru, also known as the Seven Sisters. Seven stars, so close together…. Its hard to see, but its right there."_

_I nodded as the brown haired boy continued. "That, right there, is Hercules. Thats Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor." He pointed everywhere now, pausing to give me time to find it and make out the shapes. "Bootes…. And Leo. Then theres Gemini."_

_I looked away from the stars, and at Frank. He was looking at the stars, eying one curtain one. He was illuminated by the moon, his eyes shining with the reflection of stars. I couldn't help it… I always kept my camera with me, in my pocket. I slowly pulled it out and snapped a picture of him. He didn't notice._

_"Thats Cancer." He continued._

…

I snapped back into reality when my dad walked in. "Hey there."

"Hi, Dad." I said, not really wanting to get pulled away from the memories.

"What are you looking that?" He never knew about my album. I quickly shut it.

"Nothing. Just a thing Bess sent me. Full of fashion from each year, and what went out and what was still in style. A lot of it is ridiculous."

He nodded, believing everything I said. "Alright. Breakfast is ready if your hungry. Hannah made eggs and toast."

"I'm not that hungry," I lied. I was pretty hungry, but I wanted to look at more pictures. "You two go ahead."

He nodded. "Okay, have fun." He said, then walked out of my room.

I flipped the album back open, landing in the middle now. This picture made me grin.

Joe held me tight, one arm around my bare stomach, and the other around my bare legs. We were both in swimming suits, and Joe was carrying me, running to the edge of the pier. I held onto his shoulders, eyes tightly shut. The picture was taken from a farther away, but you would know Joe and I were about to go over the edge.

"Cowabunga!" Joe had yelled as we plunged into the water.

…

I was yet again zoning out, not turning the pages of the album anymore, just lost in memories of our past cases.

_"Come on, Nancy," Frank said, grabbing my arm and ushering me out of the room._

_"What about Joe?" I asked, worried. 'He's defusing the bomb."_

_"Thats exactly why he need to get out." Frank said, and he finally shoved me, and I stumbled out of the warehouse. I turned to enter again, but Frank had locked the door._

_I turned around. So, we were in the middle of nowhere California, at a warehouse full of captives and a bomb, and Frank locked me out. There was no good reason!_

_Or was there?_

_Earlier, Joe has mentioned how everybody plants their hideouts in the middle of nowhere, and it helps them stay off the radar, but it doesn't help them get away. Because you can see everything, its unmistakable if you see a car speeding away._

_I saw a man jumping into a green van, and that man was no other then our wonderful kidnapper. "Stop!" I yelled, running to him. He floored the car, and left me in the dirt. I was about to take the risk or driving on of the Hardy's motorcycles, but then the entire warehouse blew to pieces._

_I screamed, and took cover behind what I think is Frank's motorcycle. Debris blew over, along with fire and smoke, the motorcycle protecting me. It was really scary._

_Then, the horrible fact came to my mind. Frank and Joe, along with five hostages, are dead. "No!" I screamed as loud as I could, sitting up, and facing the wreck. Tears welled in my eyes._

_"No!" I screamed again. The smoke cleared after a moment, and I saw the black figures scattered all over…but they were far from the warehouse. In hopes that the Hardys and the hostages were safe, I ran over._

_I smiled. "Do you boys have to give me a heart attack every time we're together?"_

_Joe smiled at me. "It wouldn't be the same if we didn't." Joe said, weakly sitting up. _

The next memory was interrupted by my phone ringing. The caller ID gave me a mini heart attack, but sometimes my dad uses the local police's phone, since he goes there to work out his lawyer cases ever so often.

Even so, I was fearing the worst. I clicked the 'talk button and held the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

**Hey hey! So I thought I would leave an author's note saying that my characters might be a little OCC, but I'm trying my best to keep them in character. I'm was dealing with a little writer's block on this chapter, so don't blame me if its a little lame. :) **

**Take care and happy January!**

**XOXOXOXO ~ AIP (it sounds like 'Kleenex'! no wait… It sounds like 'ape'!)**


	3. Tiny Town

"Nancy Drew?" A woman asked on the other line of the phone. I'm screwed.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to sound less like a teenager and more like an adult. My dad probably wants me to help him on a little case. Like, the little things (aka finding out who robbed a house or something). I hate little cases, well, they're fun but I like having to really work, you know?

"A man by the name of Fenton Hardy had your number on his call history. Do you know him?"

"I do. Is he alright?" I questioned.

I heard the woman sigh. "He's in a hospital in Colorado, preparing to get transferred to our hospital."

Colorado? What? If he were in Colorado, then they're vacation wasn't in California. Why did they say California? "What happened?" I avoided asking the Colorado question.

"He was shot in the back. His two sons, reportedly your age and older-"

Oh god, no. If this was anything like my horrible nightmare… "Where-?"

"Missing. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy said that when they got an other key to their vacation house, the boys were gone, along with Mr. Hardy's suitcase, which he said had nothing more then his belongings."

Okay…okay, the boys are missing, Fenton's suitcase is gone. Their phones have most likely been taken away from them, unless their captors are idiots.

I must have been pondering for a while, since the caller's voice interrupted my thoughts with, "Are you still there?"

"Oh yeah, yeah,"

"Good. Because Fenton had a request for you. He wants you to find his boys, although I wouldn't-"

"I'm in." I sighed. "Detective…"

"Also," She began, "he wanted to join you. He said he's a retired policeman and knows what he's doing." Well, how could I pass up the offer to help find Frank and Joe? Oh now I'm worried about Joe.. And Frank. Both of them. Really worried…

But wait, Fenton is hurt! He can't help me with this one. I sighed. I'll have to do it anyways, no waiting. The boys are in danger, weather their captors are idiots or not. Okay, okay, lets narrow down the boys' enemies. Hm, good question. I don't know, really…I haven't been on every last one of their missions, so I'm lost on that one. Well…hm, lets see.. Well there was…no he's in jail.

"Nancy?" The policewoman's voice asked.

"Still here. I'll… I'm going to go." I hung up, and then changed out of my pajamas and into a green tank top, a coat, and jeans. I jogged downstairs, and grabbed my sneakers. I never like to dress up, unless I have to.I haven't seen Hannah yet. "Hannah?" I called out.

"I'm upstairs." I heard her say, her voice soft from down here. "I'm going out." I said, then raced out the door.

Okay lets try and figure out who knows about the Hardys' vacation. Obviously, Calie does. Their aunt, Trudy, would know, and I know. Maybe they told their neighbors, but they wouldn't have a good reason to tell them, really. So we got their family and friends they told, too. Well their families wouldn't hold anything against them, but maybe the boys' captors threatened them and found out where they were staying, or their family friends had something to do with it. Let see, I don't think Calie would tell somebody, even if she was tortured, but if she was talked into it kindly, then maybe. Fenton's police friends wouldn't say anything, since they know how often Fenton and his family are burdened with evil villains, and yes I said evil villains I can't come up with anything better.

Okay, Nancy, really dig down deep now. Knowing Laura, she booked the flight and the hotel online, most likely using Hotwire, because she's original like that, and I maybe somebody hacked her email or computer and got the information. Or… Okay Nancy, think….

Well thats what I've come up with so far. Weak, I know, but I haven't gotten any evidence. Evidence, thats what I need. I can't drive legally until next year, unless I have my dad with me…I'm not bringing him on any case. Well, I have my boyfriend Ned, who's a year older. He could help me out, but he's a little bit of a worry-wart, so I don't want him with me.

I walked down the sidewalk, on my way to the Hardy's house. Trudy should be able to tell me where exactly they went, so I can go and find some evidence.

There are plenty of people who want the Hardys dead because of Fenton and his enemies, but why just take his sons? Okay okay, I know there are ransoms and deals and crap, but the real masterminds have brilliant ideas like trade-ins and using the brothers to do something for them, but even so, some people have other things in mind.

I picked up my pace. Why do the Hardys have to live so far away? Okay, they live three miles north, but it feels like three hundred miles when your walking, and thinking of why your two best friends were kidnapped. Its a lot harder then you think, I mean, I'm worried and I'm scared and I'm really afraid of what might happen to them, even if they are two of ATAC's best agents. You know, thats what I'm worried about the most; the fact that they're agents. They might try to do something, and end up getting hurt, like one of their risky escapes that sometimes land them in the hospital.

Okay well, I've waited long enough. I need to think about why they told me they were going to California while Fenton ended up in a hospital in Colorado. I sighed deeply. No idea. No idea what so ever. I'll work this one out.

I rounded the corner, now about a block away from the Hardy's house. Trudy will know about the Colorado thing, right?

I see the Hardy's house now. I walked even faster, and when I finally got to the door, I knocked and rang the doorbell, then repeated it until Trudy opened the door, looking annoyed.

"Why did they go to Colorado?" I asked.

"What?" She asked.

"Why did your brother and his family go to Colorado? They told me they were headed to California."

"I was told they were going to California, too." Trudy said.

Well now my only option is Laura, and I don't think Fenton would be in the mood to talk with me after getting a bullet to his back. "Thanks," I said quickly, then walked down the sidewalk and took my phone out. I dialed Laura's number and waited.

"Nancy?" She asked from the other line.

"Yeah, its me, Mrs. Hardy." I said. "I was told you guys were-"

"Nancy I can't talk about that right now. You need to come down to this little town called Durango."

"Durango?" I asked, not expecting an answer. "Okay, okay, how do I get there?"

"Well its awfully small, you might not be able to get there on a big plane. Maybe fly to Denver then down,"

"K thanks," I said. I don't know why I didn't ask her anything about her boys. Maybe I just didn't want to make her cry or something, because she is very protective of her boys. Plus, they were just kidnapped, I think I'd be a little sensitive about it, too. I hung up the phone and walked home. The walk home was pretty much a blur, since I was unable to get my mind off of the boys.

The only reason I'm home is to Tell Hannah that I'm off to Denver, and get some money. "Hannah!"

"Yes?" She asked, walking in from the kitchen, wiping her dripping hands on a paper towel.

"The Hardys, the boys, they went missing, and I'm-"

She nodded. I ran up the stairs and took some money from an envelope. I always had some money ready, and normally it was a lot. Well, enough to stay at a hotel, as long as its a cheap one. I took the money out, and then packed my bags in a hurry. I have no clue where Durango is, well, I know its in Colorado, and its a small town. But other then that, no idea. Is it in the mountains? Southwest? Up north? No idea.

Before I knew it, I was the airport buying tickets. This time of year, the airlines were pretty mellow. Well, the schools weren't out for an other two weeks for their winter break. I know its a really bad thing to skip school like this, but I mean, its to help people. The Hardys never skip school, unless his parents want to go off on vacation, and they tell the school about it. Well, anyway…

I got flight o Denver that takes off in about three hours. Great, waiting. Well this gives me time to think about everything, right? I'm not going to bore myself and everybody else going through my thoughts. Basically, they were just thoughts about who would abduct the boys.

Soon enough, the plane landed and I boarded. Nothing much to say about the flight, I mean, it was like any other flight. Boring movies, looking at clouds, and trying to keep yourself busy with one or the other. Well, I'm just one step closer to finding out where the boys are. _Just hang onto that one thought, Nancy_, I told myself. That was the thought that go me through the flight.

**So sorry about the long wait! I've been crazy busy with auditions coming up and, well, just life. I know this chapter may be all over the place or just plain boring, or…like…too quick. But again, life is crazy for me and it effects my writing. I'm sorry for the long wait! I feel so bad…**

**But I hope you all enjoyed this, and if you want, you can read a story of mine that has no reviews (sad face ): ) called Kiss My Eyes And Lay Me To Sleep. Its a song fix…and the song just gets me into a depressed mood so I wrote that. Aaaand…yeah.**

**HAPPY JANUARY!**

**XOXOXOX ~ AIP (it sounds like 'iJustine'! HA! Just kidding. I'm not that cool. It sounds like 'ape'! Because I'm a monkey. …Moo.)**

**PS. Sorry if Hannah or Carson or, like…anybody is OOC! 3: I have trouble with it… Sad face. ):**


	4. The Line Was Not Dead

Once the plane had landed, I stepped out and was hit by a burst of ice cold air. I crossed my arms over my chest. This jacket wasn't thick enough… I looked around me, and I saw tall, snow capped mountains and, well, snow everywhere else. The wind from the other planes coming and going wasn't helping much, either, so I sped walked into the airport, relaxing once the heat made it's way through my jacket.

I stood around the luggage wheel, waiting for my bag to come around. Around me, there were advertisements for white water rafting, adverts for local barbecue restaurants and a heart health blip of information nearby. Oh, there it is! Brown with creamy leather straps, and very beaten up, going around the conveyer belt. I took it by it's worn handle and carried it out of other peoples' way. I have no ride to get anywhere, and from what I saw, there was now way I was walking into a town. I don't doubt that the nearest town is thirty miles away from here. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Laura's number again.

"Nancy?" She picked up. "Oh good, I was hoping to hear form you. Are you at the airport right now?"

"Yes, I'm at the airport." I told her. "I don't know where it is or where this town is, and I could really use a ride." I was hoping she would say yes, and I knew she would. Laura is probably one of the most nice mothers out there when it comes to her sons' friends.

"Of course!" Her soft voice squeaked a little. "I'll be right over, just wait for me in the main lobby." And then she hung up. I get the feeling she's not so good at saying "Goodbye". I slumped down onto a chair, my suitcase between my legs. Perhaps I should get a warmer jacket out of the suitcase, but I'd rather not risk the chance of spilling out all of my others clothes or getting anything stolen. Not that I'm too worried about that, it's just that there are a lot of suspicious looking people here intermingled with the families trying to take care of crying babies and college students happy to be home early for the holidays. Fifteen minutes passed by before I heard Laura's voice behind me.

"Nancy, is that you?" I turned around and smiled at the petite blonde woman. "Oh good, the car is all warmed up for you. It's freezing out there."

I picked up my bag and followed her into her rental car, and watched as we left the small airport. There were pine trees covered in snow, weighed down and occasionally dropping snow and creating little pine-coated piles underneath. "Laura," I started, "Can you explain to me why you're in Colorado?"

She sighed, and her grip on the steering wheel tightened. "We were going to California, I was going to go to Sea World and pet sting rays. But when we got to LAX, Fenton said we had to leave. I didn't know why, I wasn't sure what he even meant by that, but he got us the very first flight to wherever out of that airport, and we ended up going here." She kept her eyes on the icy roads. "And, we stayed in a nice home. He said we could still have anise vacation, and he kept whispering to the boys, leaving me out of what they were talking about… I figured it out boy things. Talking about what it's like to be a man, how to ski, something like that."

I nodded, waiting for her to continue. "And so we stayed in a nice cabin, where we could go out and sled or ski or snowboard to our hearts content. Not what I wanted, but I was hoping it would be relaxing nonetheless." I figure she's drawing out on the positives more than what happened because she's the type of person who needs to hang onto something positive. Maybe that's why Fenton never told her about the ATAC, because she wouldn't be able to handle the fact her little boys are putting their lives in danger.

"But…some people started banging on our door. Fenton yelled at them to scram, but when he turned around he was shot through the door.. and then there was so much noise." She sniffed. "Frank was pulling me out of the house, to the car, and I guess I was too scared to go back in. I shouldn't have been so scared, my boys were inside that house." A tear fell from her eye, and she still kept her eyes on the road. "Nancy, I need you to get my boys back. I don't know what happened, or why they were taken, or why someone was after us in the first place. Or if we're just…victims."

The Hardys payed for my hotel, which was thankfully located right along the main highway so I could get place to place fairly easily. But all I needed right now before I started searching for any clues, was a hot shower. I undressed and left my clothes in a pile near the shower, and used the hotel shampoo to clean my hair. Leaving that shower clean and refreshed, I changed into a pair of jeans, a black tank top, a green vest, and a pair of brown boots. I wrung out my strawberry blonde hair, and waited for it to air dry as I sat at a desk.

Rarely am I given a case where I start out cold; no information given to me. I took out my phone and started down my contacts list. A picture of Joe grinning his famous cheesy grin stared me in the face. I really wish I could just give Joe a call and ask him, "Where are you?" but I guess that would be too easy. My last phone call with Frank was four days ago, and my last phone call with Joe was a week ago. Frank seemed so calm and collected the night I called him, and I wonder if that was just an act or if he was really that calm. Laura said Fenton talked with the boys and left her out of it, so clearly it was a serious discussion about things she can't know. ATAC, perhaps, or why they left California so quickly.

The Hardy boys are lucky to have each other on cases like this, where they can bounce theories off of each other and figure things out more efficiently. I'm left here staring at my phone, wishing I could at least come up with an idea on how to figure out where my two best friends are.

_ Yo I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want, so tell me what you want-_

I jumped at the sudden noise; my phone was going off. Joe changed his ring tone to the single song that annoys me more than he does, and… Wait a moment. Joe is calling me. I pressed the call button. "Hello?"

"I don't know where Joe is." It was Frank. His breathing was loud and labored. "I don't know where Joe is." He repeated.

"Frank! Are you okay? Where are you?" I asked, my voice louder than I wanted it to be. But I"m so relived to hear his voice.

"Too late." He breathed. "Joe. Nancy, please."

"What happened to you? Frank…just answer my question, you'll be alright."

"Please…"

"Frank, don't you dare. Don't you dare!" I shouted into my phone, my throat tightening so much it hurt to even breath. He didn't reply. The line wasn't dead but he wouldn't reply. "Frank!" I shouted, even though it felt like I was tearing my throat to shreds. "Frank, answer me!" And he didn't.

The line was not dead. He wouldn't reply.


	5. Wake up

Many, many hours went by since he stopped replying. I left my phone on speaker, hoping to hear something from the other line. Or just waiting for the line to go dead. The desk now is laden with my notebooks and my multicolored pens, a complimentary mug filled with bitter coffee hardly sweetened by the sugar and creamer provided. And a blank notebook. I've scribbled down stupid ideas, locations, reasons, but they're all just smeared ink by now.

The Hardys were only here for a few nights, and knowing Laura, were probably just unpacking and figuring out other things to do in this tiny town. And if they're perusers were dangerous enough to make Fenton turn his entire family around and visit some small town, they were probably smart enough to follow them down here. And are probably smart enough to figure I'd come down here, seeing as me and the Hardys do a lot of missions together and get a lot of people angry together.

Anxiously, I looked down at my phone. I turned the screen back on, and frowned when the call wasn't open anymore. The line went dead… I felt my eyes sting a little in worry. I took a deep breath, and looked down at my notebook. The last person we got really angry, who hasn't been sent to jail, was a terribly hard to catch woman. Her name is Jaclyn, and she prefers not to get her own hands dirty. She was running an operation in the Hawaiian islands, and it was pretty nice to visit Hawaii with the boys to solve a mission.

I wrote her name down in green ink. She always had people working under her, and in order to keep everything according to her plans, she's an obsessive planner. She plans attacks ahead and is incredibly smart. She often leads her victims to another location, or somewhere a scene would not be caused to people outside of her cross hairs. It makes sense that the Hardys were driven to a secluded vacation home and attacked there. There was no weak point in their attack, and they got who they wanted, and I assume that's the boys. They wouldn't have shot Fenton if they wanted him in fear of him getting shot fatally. It's Jaclyn.

"It's her! Oh my god, they're not in good shape." I said to myself, standing up from where I have been sitting for hours on end. I ran my fingers through my hair and blinked my bangs out of my eyes. There's no way she isn't anticipating a rescue mission from me. I paced back and fourth. Where would she be? Somewhere obvious. But not quite so obvious. She's too smart! I kicked my bed and winced when my toe made a popping sound.

I groaned and sat down on the bed. The problem with Jaclyn is that she's someone that hides so easily in plain sight, and so well out of sight. She mixes things up and those working for her aren't big scary goons, but they look like normal people. And what distresses me the most, is that everyone in this town plays some sort of sport; skiing, football, rock climbing, or something that makes them quite muscular. So even if she had big goons here, they'd blend in perfectly.

I got right back up and picked up my phone. The coffee didn't help with the jitters I'm experiencing from a hopeful conclusion to who kidnapped them… I called Fenton.

"Hello?" He sounded sleepy. I wonder what time it is… I probably should have checked before calling him. "This better be important, it's late."

"It's important, Mr. Hardy. I think I might've figured out who took Frank and Joe. Remember over the summer, how we visited Hawaii? We couldn't actually catch her, so Jaclyn is still out there. It has to be her." My voice flew off of my lips faster than my brain was processing them.

"Calm down, Nancy." He soothed. "The attack seemed awfully violent for her taste, don't you think?"

"It does seem more violent, but taking into consideration she was taking on all four Hardys, most notably you, and she went for it. I think that it's her, because she planned out the attack in such a way, there was no possible way for the boys to escape, and if she wanted just Frank and Joe, then she got what she wanted and did it well."

"I don't think it was Jaclyn, Nancy."

"It _has_ to be her." I argued. "Who else has something against those two who are still out on the loose? Most of them are in jail for another three to six years."

"Most. " He stated, sounding a little annoyed. "There are a handful of people still out there, and even more who we don't know. Get some sleep, Nancy. Good night." He hung up the phone.

Why doesn't he trust me? Jaclyn got Frank, Joe, and I in some pretty tough situations, but I can't see him holding that against her and leaving him in denial. Fenton is a person of fact, not someone who is led strictly by his emotions. Even though we were put in tough situations because of this woman, he shouldn't be denying it. Or maybe he just doesn't think it's her. But all the signs point directly at this woman.

Looking down at my phone, it read 12:46 am. I guess it was a bad time to call Mr. Hardy, anyway. I sighed and stripped to clothes I was wearing in exchange for my comfier pajamas, and turned off the lights. No harm in getting some sleep, I figured. No matter how worried I am about Joe and Frank, I can't do anything until the morning, when I can contact people and move around freely. I got under the covers and let myself fall asleep, which took a good forty five minutes.

_I was in a white room. I don't know why it was white, but it was. It was so bright I needed to squint. I knew I was laying down so I tried to sit up, but something was preventing me from doing so. Looking down at my body, I had no restraints of any kind. I was just in my pajamas, laying on the ground._

_I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes to the brightness, and when they finally adjusted, I noticed someone walking around the room at a fast pace, almost like they were being fast forwarded. I heard him scream a few times, shout things. After a few vulgarities shouted, I noticed that it was Joe. His almost brown hair had a halo of shine around it as he paced._

_After a little while of seeing him pace and shout and scream like a video being fast forwarded, I could understand what he was saying. "Give him back!" He'd shout over and over again. "I'll find you, give him back!"_

_Continuously, he'd kick the wall or punch it, or more frequently he'd run his fingers through his hair and scream, holding his head with hair between his fingers. "If you touch him, I'll kill you!" He screamed so loud it made my frozen body flinch. And then it was like he noticed me, and the room turned into a normal room with wooden floors and dull white walls._

_He turned his head, looking at me. He seemed slightly confused, wondering how I got there. He was moving at a normal pace now, and it seemed slow compared to what I had just witnessed. I blinked, and Joe's face was about a foot from mine, leaning over me. "Wake up."_

And I did. I sucked in a breath like I was surprised to wake up, and looked at the clock beside the bed. 6:12. An appropriate time to wake up, I'd say. I don't know what to think of that dream, or if it's just a stress dream, but it was on my mind still as I showered and as I got dressed.

I was brushing my hair clear of knots before I decided to go out and face the world when I heard shouting in my ear, "Wake up!" it caused me to scream and drop my hair brush. I looked all around me and there was no one in the room, there was nothing yelling in my ear. I put my hand on my heart like it would stop it from pounding and recollected myself. Just thinking back to the dream, that's all. I took a deep breath in and a deep breath out, then picked my hair brush up off the floor.

I tossed it into my suitcase, and then put my bag over my shoulder and left the room. Whatever happened, I don't want to be in the same room as it. It was cold outside, but it felt much better than being in that room. The crisp air heaped clear my mind as I walked to the nearest bus stop.

I don't know where I intended to go, but maybe if I got a better feel for the town, I'd be able to figure out what to do and where to find the boys. Fenton and Laura have to leave this town to be transferred to a bigger hospital, the one in Bayport, so soon I'll be on my own here. The little red bus stopped in front of me and opened up it's doors. I climbed into the car, and the very first thing I noticed was the fact the seats were like benches along the side of the bus. How queer.

Everyone seemed to be tightly packed in, starting small talk and opening up seats for other people who might've needed it more than the other. It was kind of cute, actually. I smiled to myself and moved into one of the free spots near the back of the bus. There was a woman across from me with a very loud laugh; she was talking with someone who may or may not have been a stranger.

"And your grandkids?" She asked him, curiously tilting her head.

"They're doing fine. One sent me a letter with a picture of her and Santa Claus. She wanted a dragon, not a pony. And a knight's sword. I don't know what to do with her!" He chuckled. She grinned and laughed along with him.

Once she had finished laughing, she noticed me watching them. "Hello." She said politely, and then turned her attention back to the older gentleman next to her. The bus made a new stops, but most people got off at the first stop downtown, which was filled with two story buildings looking like they were from the early 1900's. I stepped off the bus, and took a look around me. A smoke shop, a hotel, an italian restaurant, a boutique, and other shops lined the not so busy street.

Because winter break hadn't started yet, there weren't many teenagers roaming the streets. I felt out of place, and hoped no one thought it was skipping school for any reason. I don't know why I was afraid of that, but it seems like a tight knit town, and I'm sticking out like a sore thumb. I crossed the street, putting my hands in my jacket pocket to keep them warm. There sure was a lot of wind here, and it was nice to be under the shelter of sturdy brick buildings. My shoes splat against the half-frozen puddles in the dips of the sidewalk, and the cold temperatures were almost refreshing after my nightmare and the screaming in my ear. It almost took me away from the situation I'm in.

Oh, the situation. I shook my head and looked around at all the buildings. Jaclyn may be hiding out under one of them, but I doubt there are any tornado shelters, basements, in a mountain town. They don't have much of a need for basements, where it could be pretty easy to hide an extra floor or two underground. I sighed and rubbed my hands together, hoping the friction would warm them some. After a few blocks of observing the old stone buildings on either side of me, I decided to turn into a coffee shop at the end of the block.

It was so nice in here… I looked up at the menu written in chalk; chocolate mocha, mountain blend, earl grey tea, banana and kiwi smoothies… I stepped up to the counter and looked down at the display of tasty treats.

"Can I help you?" A college-aged man asked me. I looked up at him and then back up to the menu. "Take your time, we're in no rush."

"Thanks. Can I have a mountain blend? That sounds really good right about now."

Once I handed over my money to pay for the drink, I looked over to my left, and past the displays of kitchenware and little home kick knacks, I noticed a little nook with a staircase leading down. To seem as normal as possible, I waited until I got my coffee to investigate the staircase. It was right near a display, so it was fairly easy to look normal while staring down to the next floor below. I took a sip of my coffee and felt relived when it started to warm me up.

The coffee shop wasn't too busy, and the two people working were paying attention to each other. I quickly stepped down the staircase, moving rapidly until I couldn't be seen by anyone else. I opened up my bag and pulled out a small flashlight, lighting up the dark until I could find some sort of light switch. I flipped a switch, and it was a small storage room; boxes of coffee bags and bags of coffee creamer. A freezer with frozen fruits and what looked like cookie dough. It doesn't seem like much of a criminal hide out to me.

"Yeah, I'll check if we have some more." I heard the guy who just gave me my coffee holler from the top of the staircase. Crap. I ran behind a large stack of boxes, and held my breath. I heard his shoes clunking down he wooden staircase, and like he jumped down the last few steps, a thud against cement. He hummed to himself quietly as he read the labels of the boxes, picked up bags of coffee blends. His humming got quieter, and I looked out from the side. He was lingering towards the back, a darker area where the lights didn't quite reach.

He looked over his shoulder, thankfully not in my direction, and then lifted up a trap door and jumped inside. Oh my god, this could be it! I sat my coffee down on the floor and stood up. I hurriedly walked over to the trap door, and felt my heart pump in adrenaline. I bent down to lift up the door when I felt a terribly sharp pain against my skull, and I fell on top of the door. Part of me wishes that knocked me out; the darkness seems to be swimming and all I can really think is how much that hurt my head. I grabbed my head, where I felt myself get hit.

"Damn it." Someone mumbled, and then grabbed me by my jacket, making me stand up from where I had fallen. "Can't risk hurting you too bad, Drew." It sounded like a woman.

The room was spinning and the dark was still swimming. I shook my head to snap out of my daze but it only hurt worse to do so. She yanked my bag off of my shoulder and I heard it slide against the floor. She got a tighter grip on my arms and pulled me away from the door, and I could only stumble backwards and occasionally lose my footing. At one point, I lost my footing for the second time and she let of me, letting me drop down onto my back, knocking the air out of my chest. I coughed and focused my eyes. The girl standing over me had black hair, and such a pretty face, freckles dotting her nose. Either they were freckles, or I'm seeing spots.

She reached behind her and held something dark, and it looked like that was swimming, too. I squinted, but before I could actually focus, she pulled that thing over my head and pushed me over onto my side. I rolled onto my stomach, and felt her shoe in between my shoulder blades, pinning me down, half dazed. Since I was starting to regain whatever senses were knocked out of me, I started to struggle against her foot. I couldn't see a single thing, and was just trying to sit up.

"You're not as tough as you like to look." She commented. "I wanna make it look like an accident." I froze. An accident?

"Stop!" The guy who served me earlier shouted. "Stop, hang on!"

"Piss off, Dean." She snapped. "I'm doing what I was told to. Go brew some coffee or something, I have a job to do."

"Yeah well I just got told the opposite, so why don't you piss off, Amber, and go brew some coffee of your own?" I heard him walking over to me, and push her off of my back. Amber… That name sounds so familiar. I yanked the rag from off of my head, and rolled onto my back.

"Amber?" I repeated, getting a better look at her. Black curly hair, a button nose, and perfectly plucked eyebrows. It was Joe's girlfriend. I felt a little burning sensation in the pit of my stomach, angry that she betrayed him like this. He rarely trusts to be in a dedicated relationship anymore, scared things like this will happen. I clenched my fists, and jumped up from where I was once dazed and barely conscious. I jumped at her, but to my distaste, Dean grabbed me before I could even smell her perfume.

"And breathe." He said to me, stuffing a rag in my face. I breathed in merely out of surprise, and instantly felt myself slipping away. His arm was around the small of my back firmly, and didn't move when I started to fall into it. I blinked, and I could't open my eyes after that. His arm was firm around the small of my back.

**A little bit of a longer chapter, but a chapter nonetheless. And don't worry, we're not getting to the end this quick. I've still got a couple of tricks up my sleeve.**

**PS. Bookaholic whomever you may be, I'm writing this because you reviewed recently and I thought I was done writing any form of stories and then you reviewed and I figured, why not write more? You go, Glen Coco, you go.**


	6. Unlikely allies

When I woke up, I was in a bedroom. Well, that's not what I'm used to. I laid on a soft bed, and all around me there were posters and golden awards hanging on the wall. I focused my eyes and tried to read one across the room, but it couldn't quite read it in the dim light. I rubbed my eyes and sat upright.

Almost like someone was waiting on the other side of the door to hear to stir, Dean walked in, shutting the door behind him. "Can you tell me your name?"

I tilted my head slightly. "My name is Nancy Drew."

He raised his eyebrow at me. "_Nancy_ Drew? Or Nichole Drew?"

"Nancy." I sighed. "Why are you wondering? If you're working for who I think you are, you should already know me." I wanted to sound cocky, and hopefully that worked.

He crossed his arms. "And, why would we know you?"

"Maybe because we've met before and I almost took down your boss? Is this where you're keeping them?" I asked, standing up.

He seemed slightly confused by me. "My boss isn't a woman."

Yes, Jaclyn is your boss. "Then who is it?"

"Nichole," his voice was almost a soothing tone now, "our boss is Derek Manzel. Remember?"

Does he think I'm someone else? I don't know who Nichole is, or who Derek Manzel is or why he thinks I'm someone I'm not. "I'm not Nichole." I said firmly.

"You have a habit of losing your memory, it's a side effect of the serum Jaclyn gave you three weeks ago, do you remember that?" He stepped closer to me, and put his hands on my arms.

Slightly confused, I put my hand over my eyes. "Amber. She was going to kill me. And why is that, if I'm a friend?" I asked.

"A few weeks ago, you were given a serum and after that you lost your memory, and a few days was taken to turn you into one of her agents. She sent you to the our office and you almost got codes she really wanted. Our agency boss decided to put you on the danger list and Amber gets a little trigger happy. Once evidence was uncovered that you were innocent, I came in to help you."

"What's the agency called?"

"Double F. Facing Fear, remember?"

I sighed. "Dean, I don't know what that is. I'm not Nichole. I'm Nancy. It was nice and all to wake up in a bedroom, but this isn't my bedroom. Check your records; Detective Nancy Drew. I live in Bayport and I've been recruited multiple times by the ATAC to accompany their top agents, as I'm seen as a valuable agent to them without having any direct ties to any agency in case the worst comes to worst. Check your records, please. I'm not Agent Nichole Drew, whomever she may be."

He didn't reply, but rather slide his hands off of my arms and let them fall to his sides. He turned around and left the bedroom, perhaps to do as I said and check the records. Seeing as he didn't say I had to stay in the room, I walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway leading to bathrooms and perhaps other bedrooms. I eventually found my way to a staircase, in which I walked down. My bag was sitting on a couch, and my phone on the table beside it. I took them both.

It was a nice house; creamy white couches in front of a nice tv set, a decently large kitchen and small dining room area. I turned my phone on and looked at the time; 3:13 PM, the same day I was knocked out. No missed calls. I put my phone back in my pocket and saw Amber walk into the room. Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth. "Nancy?"

"Someone remembers me." I breathed in relief. "Dean thinks I'm some girl named Nichole. Who is that?" I asked. She point to the table where I got my phone from, where a picture was sitting. It was the three of them; Dean, Amber, and who I assume is Nichole in the center. She had strawberry blonde hair like mine, and similar features to me. A defining feature that makes her look different than I do is a tattoo on her neck, which I could see could be easily hidden by her hair. Her hair was curlier than mine and longer.

"She looks like you; I thought I would… I don't know." She dropped her shoulders. "What were you even doing in Durango, Nancy?"

"I have some questions for you. Double F? What kind of agency is that?"

"I think I would have to ask you what the ATAC is. I know I've heard it mentioned by our recruiting agents but, you work for them?"

"Nonofficially." I stated. "Are you guys looking for Jaclyn?"

She just nodded. Dean then walked into the room. "Detective Nancy Drew-"

"I know her." Amber said. "She was at my boyfriends' house not long ago. She's his friend." For some reason that made me a little jealous; she's not some traitor to him and maybe the fact she's an agent, too, will help their relationship last. I bit my lip and nodded to what she said despite that strange feeling in my stomach.

"I got information about her fairly quick from our database but I couldn't access anything else. She's definitely not Nichole." They both seemed baffled by this, and a little sad that they didn't find their friend. Amber got a little aggressive, and I can see that weighing down on her, pondering the 'what if' factor of the situation.

A blue light flashed on their tv set, under the screen itself. Dean walked over to the couch and sat down, and Amber did, too. I guess it was something important, so I sat down too. "What's that?" I asked.

"This house is an agent retreat. Me and Nichole live here. We got this program on the tv so we can kind of web cam with our boss or whoever needs to talk with us through the agency." He then raised his voice to make it sound more authoritative and clear, "Code: On."

A middle aged man appeared on the screen, wearing a nice suit. He had brown hair and a neatly grimed beard. He noticed my presence. "Detective, I was about to talk about you."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "You know me?"

He nodded once. "The ATAC contacted me. They have new information regarding Jaclyn, and have informed me that they have a detective already working a case regarding the capture of their best agents and her partners. They requested that I take you two off the job and onto a new one, but I have managed to form an agreement with them. "

We sat and waited for him to continue.

"I requested that we work together with Nancy, and work together towards their goals and ours. They agreed on certain conditions, that being we remain faithful to our goals and our agencies but work with each other. Do you think you three can agree to that?"

"What's your goal?" I asked him.

"Find and capture Jaclyn to ensure she gets sent to court."

I nodded. "Okay."

After the three of us confirmed we would be fine with working together, the tv went black again and the blue light went away. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled my phone out and opened a text from Fenton; _Keep their identities classified. They are not allies. They are not to be trusted._


	7. Terrible News

This entire situation took me off guard, and yet I wanted to act like the esteemed detective everyone is assuming I am. I held kept my back straight and face unmoving, but I was intimidated by the text that Mr. Hardy sent me. He's just about the most important person the ATAC has, and they entrust the detective who doesn't know a thing compared to any of their agents, seeing as Joe is sixteen years old and has a black belt in aikido and skills in tae kwon do and kung fu, and Frank knows morse code, sign language, and the martial arts.

Amber was calmly clicking away at her computer, perhaps trying to find out information from news stories or maps or something. Dean was in the kitchen behind me making coffee. These people didn't look like enemies but the ones you have to watch out for rarely do.

"Nancy, do you want anything? I've got the coffee almost done, or are you more of a tea person? I think detectives like tea." Dean said from the kitchen, pulling me away from my thoughts. "Uh, I got earl grey and jasmine."

I smiled a little bit and faced the kitchen so my voice would carry better. "I would love some jasmine."

"Got it." He responded. I held my hands together in front of me and sat on the couch beside Amber. She was looking at a satellite map of the mountains nearby. She was zooming in and analyzing and comparing it with a topo map and a road map.

"I don't see anything wrong with it." She said to herself, and sighed.

"May I have a look?" I asked. She nodded and flicked her hand carelessly. I took her computer and looked closely at the topo map; with every line closer to another meaning there's a change in elevation. I studied every line, and then looked at the road map, which had some information about the mountains, but seeing as there aren't any roads there, they didn't put too much care into the details. I compared to topo map and the road map and noticed a small slip up; one line curved closer to another on the topo map. The road map was published in 2003 and this topo map was published in 2013.

I then zoomed in on the location where the new shift in elevation was, and noticed a discoloration in the mountain; hardly enough to notice, but I'm assuming that's a door and they had to mess with the mountain a little bit to install their buildings. "I got it." I told her. I handed her the computer back and pointed at the small discoloration. "It's a door."

Amber looked at me like I was an alien. "I've been looking at these maps for days. And you just show up and point out something staring me right in the face." Her tone was slightly patronizing, but then she smiled slightly. "No wonder our company was wanting to work with you."

Dean walked in with a coffee for Amber and tea for myself. I sipped at the tea and let Amber tell him about the estimated location. They started discussing ways to get up to the mountains. The tea tasted awfully bitter. I sat the tea down on the table at the end of the couch and let them talk about cars and snowmobiles and airplanes and helicopters.

"If you don't mind, I have agents I need to get back in a very time sensitive manner." I said. "Figure out what's less obvious and gets the job done and we can go. It's four in the afternoon and the sun will be setting in a few hours."

They then started talking about other methods and things they might have to bring. They're not that well trained, or they don't recruit the toughest agents in the world. I looked through my bag and confirmed everything that should be in there was, and then made sure my cell phone battery was doing alright. They seemed to have gotten to a conclusion fast, and within the hour, we were on snowmobiles racing towards the mountain.

The wind was very cold, and the sun was slowing going down. I don't think my jacket was warm enough for this… The end of my jacket was flapping behind me and allowing the wind to billow into my shirt. I felt like I probably looked like some action star racing to rescue their friends from uncertain danger, but all I was feeling right now was very, very cold. And rather scared, as I've never driven a snowmobile this fast before, or over rugged mountain terrain.

I pressed on the gas even more despite my fear, because Amber and Dean were ahead of me. Even though I was wearing gloves, my hands hurt from the cold. I breathed out a puff of visible air, trying to will myself to warm up. We kept at this for a while, and when she last rays of sunlight were shining and the world was bitterly cold, we had made it to our location. We parked our snowmobiles out of sight, and walked for a short while the rest of the way.

I felt a gnawing sense of worry and achievement as we approached the hidden doors. Amber and Dean had stopped walking, but I moved between them to get closer. "They're right inside there. Clever, looks like a rock side. Matches the rest of the rocks but one thing they have in common that the rocks don't is frost build up, oh how clever." I smiled to myself, wanting to break in through those metal doors and find Joe. And Frank.

Oh god, Frank. How could I forget? Frank called me and he sounded awful, he sounded hurt. Where could he be? Not outside, surely not outside. I don't doubt that he'd be dead if he was outside. It's been too long for him to make it out here if he was wounded, or even if he was healthy but had no way down the mountain and to a warm, safe place. I put my hand over my mouth and pulled my phone out of my bag. I tore off my gloves and dialed Joe's number, praying Frank still had the phone and the phone was still in charge. I was hopping for a miracle.

"Nancy, why are you on the phone?" Amber asked. "Get off of the phone."

I ignored her, hearing it ring one and twice and then three times. After the fourth ring I got Joe's voice mail message. I hung up, dropping my phone in my bag and putting my gloves back on. "Checking. Um, doesn't.. it passed a test. I'm good." I said, my heart dropping into the pit of my stomach. "Let's get inside. I'd say the door is the main way to get in…but they had to get something into their actual buildings to help set up the entire thing, I don't doubt there's another way to get in."

I walked about the perimeter and checked for little faults in the mountain side. I walked around back to the door, and right then the doors swung open. Instinctively, I ducked behind a large rock and curled myself up as tightly as I could.

"Hands in the air!" Someone I didn't know shouted. "Right now, hands up." I heard a struggle; snow crunching rapidly, grunts, the sound of guns hitting skin, and then it was all quiet. I slowly turned around and peeked over the rock. The doors were slowly swinging shut, and there was no signs of Amber or Dean. I stumbled onto my feet and ran to the door as quickly as I could, catching it before it closed. I slipped into the building, and was in a cement corridor, lights on the ceiling placed five feet apart from each other in a line down the hallway.

It was still cold, but much warmer than the almost dark mountain. I'm inside, that's good. Inside is good. Closer to the boys. I saw Amber and Dean getting dragged down the hallway, towards an elevator. I moved behind them, trying to stay in whatever shadows I could find. No one heard me over their echoing voices and the sound of their shoes smacking concrete.

I hid behind a half circled arch supporting the roof that was placed every fifteen feet or so, and peeked out to watch the uniformed man punch a code into the elevator's side. 21406. Okay, 21406. Easy enough. I hid again as they boarded the elevator and rode it down for how ever deep it goes. A minute afterwards, I made my way to the elevator and punched the code in. I boarded the elevator, and there wasn't any other floors to go to except this top one and the bottom one. I pressed that single button and rode down.

It's going to be more heavily armed down there, I'm positive. I don't keep any weapons on me, and I guess I should've for this trip. But maybe I can sneak my way around if I get passed the very obvious entrance I'm about to make. I rode down for little while, and then felt the elevator come to a stop. I held my breathe in anticipation.

The doors opened, and no one was there. What…? I walked out slowly, looking around me to make sure this wasn't some sort of trap. It was a small room, similar to what a nice office waiting room was, and then the walls narrowed slightly and there was another hallway, only this one was more decorated. It was white, and looked very similar to an office building. It had potted plants dotted here and there, and doors leading this way and that. There were the same semi circular support beams for their ceiling, but it felt much nicer, and much warmer.

I saw a door near the end of the hallway finish closing, and I assume that's where they took Amber and Dean. This was my chance to go searching for Joe, and possibly Frank if he's even in this building. I took slow steps down the hallway, listening closely for any footsteps and watching for any security cameras. There weren't any. I peeked inside the small square window in the first room I walked by; I gasped and noticed a whole room full of people working for Jaclyn. It was like an office break room with a coffee machine, food, couches, chairs, even a tv.

I quickly ducked out of sight, and kept moving down the hallway. I checked in every room; empty, empty, empty, empty. And then I looked inside one, and there was a blond boy sitting on the floor. His head was in his hands and his body was curled up. It was Joe… Oh god, Joe. He looked so helpless in this little room. It looked very similar to the one I saw in my dream the other night. I knocked on the glass, making him jump. He looked up, and his eyes got wide when he saw my face.

"Nancy?" He asked. I could hardly hear him, but I knew what he said. It was nice to hear him say my name again. I put my hand on the handle. "I can't open it from in here" He said. "It might be locked."

There wasn't any visible place to put a key into, so I figured that maybe it locks once you're inside the room. But then that'd mean the people that went into the room with Amber and Dean are screwed, unless someone was going to get them out after… Oh. I looked around me and heard talking from the break room I just saw. I turned the handle, hoping I was right. I was, and the door opened up. I pulled a pencil out of my bag, and placed the very end of it between the door and the frame, making it look shut.

I turned around and saw Joe standing up. He looked like he had taken a beating; he was bruised and cut, and his hands were shaking. I don't know if he had eaten or drank anything since he has been here. He looked like he was going to fall over, or maybe he was just tired. He doesn't look like he's gotten any sleep… He ran up to me and held me extremely tight. All my doubts about his well being drifted away as I held him, too.

We stood here like this for a while, before he got his sense together and pulled me away from him, holding me by the arms. "How did you get in here?"

"That's a long story, Joe." I started from when I went to get coffee, and left out the part about Amber.

"Double F? Nancy, you didn't…" He breathed. "They're not exactly friends with the ATAC. I don't know why they even agreed to let you be with them."

"Why, what's wrong with them?" I asked, kind of nervous now. He sighed took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Have you heard of WARD?" He asked me. I shook my head. "WARD is Warring Adolescents Revenge Division. It's led by a man named Poppa Noir, and they're first job was to send their best agents out to kill me and Frank. Double F is one of their aliases. They think the ATAC doesn't know, but that's why we have a rocky relationship with them is because we don't trust them. Whoever Dean and that girl are, they're dangerous. Their job is probably to try and kill us again. They've been captured, though, right?" I nodded. "Jaclyn will have no problem treating them like they've treated me."

I nodded, feeling very nervous. So Amber really _is_ a terrible person, and maybe there isn't any Nichole Drew. Maybe it was a cover up to get me on board with their mission. I don't know anything anymore…

"Are you okay?" He asked me.

"I'm more worried about you. Joe, where's Frank?" I asked. He shook his head sadly, looking away from me.

"I don't know. The first night we were here, I was with him. Then they came in in the morning and beat us both up, and Frank got the worst of it. He was hauled out by some guys, and I haven't seen him since."

"I got a phone call from your brother. He said to find you, that it was 'too late' for him. I don't know what he was talking about… He had your phone." The look on his face when he heard me say that was devastating. He ran over to the door, pushing me into the corner as he ran. Probably he hide me from the sight of any guards, but it still knocked the wind out of me.

"Where's Frank!?" He screamed. "Give him back!" He screamed that over and over and over again, running his hands through his hair and hitting the door. I was scared my pencil was going to break. "Give him back!"

This was just like my dream; his movements, what he was yelling, it was just like my dream. However, I didn't dream about what he was doing now. He backed away from the door and covered his eyes, pressing he ends of his hands into his eyes. He was crying, his body trembling as he did. He fell onto the floor and his entire body shook with his sobs. Through his cries, I heard him say his brother's name. "Frank…"


	8. Left Behind

I have never seen Joe Hardy cry before. I don't know what happened to him over these last few days, but he broke down with just the thought of his brother being dead. It made my stomach hurt, too, but I had to keep my hopes up. Why would they keep the in a facility like this and keep Joe alive for so long if they just intended on killing them?

I kneeled next to Joe, and put my arms around him. I made soothing noises and ran my fingers through his hair, knowing it helps calm him down. "Shhh, Joe. Frank is alright, we just have to find him. Okay?" He didn't respond for a while. After another few minutes of crying, he wiped his eyes and sniffled. He looked like a little boy with his red eyes and messy hair.

He turned to face me and his face was inches from mine. I could make out the small details in the pigmentation of his eyes; how the blue near the rim of his eye was darker than the rest, how there were little flecks of icy white colors making his eyes look like the first frost of the year. LIttle red veins took away from the clean look of his eyes and they had a glazed look over them, making the colors a little more washed out than I would think they actually were. "We can get out, right?"

I nodded, not wanting him to move away from me. I felt his breath on my face and it was almost comforting that he was this close to me. He gave me a cheeky grin, and even though I loved to see his smile, I knew it was fake. We both stood up, and he wasn't nearly as close to me as I would have hoped. To prevent suspicion, he walked up to the door and looked out the little window; checking for anyone nearby. "Safe." He said.

I turned the pencil to make the door open up wider so I could slip my fingers in the crack, and opened up the door. We both carefully and quietly left the room and closed the door. Almost like it was timed, Joe started to sway side to side, and looked more tired than before.

"What's wrong?" I whispered to him.

"I don't feel so good. I'm not used to standing very much." He said, and stumbled to one side. He caught himself by grabbing onto my shoulder and steadying himself. "Let's go." I nodded and took him by the forearm, leading him down the hallway and towards the elevator. "Wait," he stopped me from walking, "Frank might be in here."

"He might be." I said to him. "But we need to get out of here. Joe, you look like you're going to fall over any minute." I made him start walking again and once we got to the elevator, he had to lean against a wall to keep himself steady.

The doors opened and I felt relief; one of the boys is safe. But that peace of mind was interrupted by someone shouted, "Hey! Stop!" From down the hallway. I looked down the hallway, and saw Dean running towards us.

"Joe, get into the elevator." My voice left my lips faster than I thought the words while I shoved Joe into the elevator before me. I ran into it and pressed the up button as many times as it took until the doors started to shut.

"Nancy!" He shouted, getting closer to the elevator. My hands began shaking as he got closer and closer, but the doors shut before he could halt the process. Right away, it started moving upwards. Joe was leaning in a corner, and his eyelids were drooping. I shook his shoulder and helped him walk out of the elevator once it stopped.

We were slow down the concrete hallway, but we were safer than we were inside of the office-like hall. I had his arm over my shoulder and even though he was taller than me, it seemed that leaning down onto me was helping him walk better. But then I heard the elevator doors open again.

I held Joe's wrist tighter and I flexed the arm around his waist, preparing to run. I looked behind me, hoping it was just Dean. He wouldn't break my trust just yet, would he? But it was three guards. I broke out into a run, Joe stumbling and struggling to keep up with me. "Come on!" I encouraged, running even faster.

We made it to the door, and my already cold hands were fumbling to turn the handle. We broke out into the night air, and it was terribly, bitterly cold. "Come on, the snowmobiles are over here." I said. To try and get an advantage over the goons still in the corridor, I moved as quickly as I could into the trees and towards where we parked the snowmobiles, holding Joe to my side.

It was much harder to navigate in the woods during the night time, but it also helped us with our cover. Every once and a while, a pine tree's branch would drop some snow onto our backs and our heads, feeling like little pins stabbing into my skin.

Once we made it to the snowmobiles, I noticed Joe wasn't wearing a jacket; he just had a t shirt and jeans. He must be absolutely freezing. "Oh, Joe." I breathed. "Are you cold?" He weakly nodded in response. From behind us, I heard shouting and the sound of tree branches getting disturbed.

I got onto the snowmobile and let Joe sit behind me. I quickly took off my own jacket and handed it to him. "Put that on. I'm wearing long sleeves." I instantly felt much colder, but he was wearing less than I was and he was much weaker than I. I started up the snowmobile and that drew a lot of attention to our area.

I felt his arms grip around my waist, and that was the sign I needed to start moving. I started as fast as I could, hoping the goons didn't find the other two. The wind was chilling, the moon and stars out for the night. It lit up the darkness of the night ever so slightly, and allowed me to turn off my headlight and use the moon as my light.

The people behind us had found the other two snowmobiles, the sound of their motors growing closer. I also heard the sound of gunshots. I pressed on the gas, making it go as fast as it could go. The adrenaline made the cold less noticeable, seeing as I was being shot at from behind in the icy mountains of Colorado.

"Do you remember where your vacation house was?" I shouted over the motor and wind.

Joe placed his head on my shoulder. "We can't go back there, I don't think it'd be safe."

"Do you remember?"

He looked around, and hollered, "Left."

I took a very sharp turn left, and directly left was into thick forest. I wove in-between trees and over half exposed rocks. I made zig zag formations to throw everyone off, until I found a small bundle of vacation houses. None of the lights were on in any of them, and a lot had signs saying "For rent" in front of them.

I was happy to see that every outdoor snow shelter had one or two snowmobiles under them, so I pulled into one of the sheds and turned the snowmobile off. I helped Joe stand up and made sure he got to the side door of one of the houses for rent. I pulled out a bobbi pin from my pocket and started picking the lock. Just as I heard the door click, I saw Joe slump down in the snow next to me, unconscious.

I hadn't heard a gunshot, and I didn't see any blood. He simply collapsed. I opened the door and dragged him into the house, shutting the door once his feet were through the doorway. I dragged him through this small hallway and by the kitchen, and into the first bedroom I saw. Now for the hard part…

My body trembled as I tried to pick Joe up. The fact my joint felt half frozen didn't help my strength, and I managed to put him on the bed. I pulled the shoes off of his feet and pulled the covers down, then tucked him into the bed. I figure that he wouldn't be creeped out if I slept in the same bed as him, right? I'm freezing cold and I want to make sure he stays safe, so… I pulled my boots off and quickly fit myself under the blankets. I fell asleep almost instantly, my body against Joe's back.


	9. She's In My Head

I gasped, my entire body trembling. I was up against Joe's chest and his arms were firmly wrapped around me. I felt scared, but I don't remember the dream or if there was any real reason I'm scared. There was a very dull light in the room, like the sun was just about to rise. I looked up, and saw Joe looking down at me. His expression was soft and tired. He tiled his head. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, looking back at his chest; my hands were balled into fists holding his shirt. I couldn't bring myself to let go of him, I literally couldn't unclench my hands. I looked back up at him, and his eyebrows turned up. He spoke again, "You were crying. I figured it was just a bad dream, are you okay?"

I nodded, and put an effort into letting one hand move up towards my face and wipe away old tears. I took a deep breath before I spoke. "I've been having nightmares. And they come true each time." I felt my cheeks warm as I said it. "It sounds crazy, but I dreamt everything that's happened, before it happened. And I don't know why."

He nodded, and brushed hair away from my face. "What did you dream of?" The gentleness of his touch made me want to remember, no matter how scary that dream may have been.

"I can't remember this one." I breathed, and rested my head on the pillow again. "What time is it?" He shrugged, and smiled. "Why are you smiling, Hardy?"

"Nothing. Get back to bed, the sun isn't even up yet." He closed his tired eyes and moved his hand from my hair to my shoulder. I scooted closer against him, and fell asleep once again.

_I was sitting in a cell, like the one Joe was in. It was bright white with the exception of blood against the wall; sliding down until there was a body slumped on the ground. It was Frank's bloody body, a still bleeding stab wound in his stomach. Amber was leaning close to his ear, and her whisper was as loud as someone screaming, "Trust gets you nowhere, Frank."_

_It was like the lights in the room flashed on and off, and suddenly there wasn't any blood, and Frank was leaning against the wall. Amber was standing slouched, looking beat up. "We need to get out of here."_

_Frank nodded. "I didn't know you were working as an agent."_

_Her smile was dull. "ATAC sent multiple agents out in this area. I guess they didn't expect us all to meet in some unlikely place. In a cell underground."_

_ATAC? She doesn't work for ATAC, she works for WARD. She's lying to him. I wonder if he can tell. He's a smart guy, he has to be able to tell she's a liar. I screamed she's a liar, but no wound came from my mouth._

_There was another flicker, only it was a flash of his bloody body and her holding a knife. The scene changed in a blink of an eye back to the relaxed, blood free setting. Frank looked at Amber._

_"How unlikely two different agents would end up in the same cell." He said to her. Her dull smile faded._

_"How did you know?" She asked._

_"I wasn't with my brother. WARD and ATAC; sure to be a fight to the death. Just what they wanted." He said, his voice turning to a dangerous tone. She glared at him, and then the lights were turning on and off and on and off; I was only able to see small flashes of their actions like when you're moving around in strobe lights._

_She jumped at Frank; Frank was on top of her. His arm was moving down like he was going to punch her, she had his throat. They were standing up again and Frank was punching her. She pressed him against a wall, he hit her mouth his his head. He had her pinned against the wall, her lip bleeding._

_The lights began flashing so fast, it disoriented me. I covered my eyes; there were so many noises it started to hurt my head. Then I felt a terrible pain in my side. The lights stopped flashing, there was no more noise. I was looking down at a knife in my skin. I looked up at the person who did this, and the room was empty. I took hold of the handle and eased it out._

_"Trust gets you nowhere, Nancy." It was Frank's voice._

"No no no no." I woke up saying that, looking right up at Joe and waking him up. "No, no, no, no, no." I sat up, making him let go of me. "No." I got right out of bed, and pulled at my hair. "No, no, no, no. No!" I screamed and left the room. Frank wouldn't do that, he would never do that.

"No!" I screamed one last time, and fell over. Joe sat on his knees in front of me.

"Nancy, what happened?"

"Every dream has come true, I don't know what to think of this one. It's messing with my head, Joe!"

He put his hands up, and slowly placed them on my shoulders. "Tell me all of your dreams. Just give me the details, we'll work this out. Okay?"

So, I found some food in the cabinets and prepared breakfast with the help of Joe until I decided he smelled too gross to work around food. As he took a shower, I brewed some coffee. I set out the breakfast at the island counter, and sat in front of my meal. Joe walked out of the bathroom wearing some new clothes.

"Found some nice clothes." He grinned. "Last people who rented this forget some stuff here." Plain and simple; a white button up shirt and a pair of jeans. He sat beside me and took a sip of coffee. He smiled at the flavor, and gestured at me to start talking.

So, I explained to him every dream I had and every event that followed it.

He seemed sad when I started talking about Frank stabbing me, but took a slow sip of coffee and furrowed his eyebrows together. He started drawing a little flow chart on my notebook paper and pen from my bag. He looked it over and over and over again.

"Wait." He said, slowly tracing the pen over a line with a dead end. "When you dreamt of me…"

I looked at the chart and shrugged.

"Nancy. When you dreamt of me, you dreamt you were in the cell with me." He sighed and then pushed the chart in front of me, moving my empty plate away. "Your dreams were dead on in the beginning. They were deathly accurate, down to the words that were said. And then when you dreamt of me, the accuracy fell."

"When you dreamt of me," He said, "You were in the cell with me. And I didn't notice you for a while, I was screaming and pacing. And that did happen, but there was a slip in the accuracy. It changed to scare you. It was supposed to confuse you, and it did. And with this one, you were very involved in it. There was a light show, there was gruesome effects meant to scare you. Whatever you're experiencing, it's supposed to disorient you."

"Disorient me?" I repeated.

He nodded. "What if it's Jaclyn? She could be doing this, causing hallucinations to scare you. She could be trying to alter your actions to get this response out of you. I don't know how she's gotten some details in before happened…but, it has to be her. It makes sense, right?"

"It makes sense." I said slowly. "But Frank-"

"He won't do that. He never would." Joe interrupted.

"But what if-"

"Stop." He said. "Don't even assume for one second Frank would do that. He's my brother, I know him."

I nodded. "I trust you."

I then heard someone whisper in my ear, a strangely familiar female voice. It sounded sexy and dangerous. "Trust gets you nowhere, Nancy." I screamed and covered my ears, and froze. Unlike when I heard someone scream 'wake up' in my ear, this voice came back. I heard it despite my ears being covered.

"Are you scared?" It laughed. "You should be scared. I can hear everything."

I breathed heavily, trying to cover my ears even more. "Go away." I said.

"I'm in your head." She drew out the last word, almost singing it. She laughed, and as she laughed what she just said repeated over and over again in different levels of volume.

I looked over Joe's shoulder, and saw a shadow of someone. I couldn't make out features; the sun was rising and she was backlit. I knew it was a girl, because I was hearing her voice. She's in the house, oh my god.

"Joe she's in the house!" I screamed. He looked over his shoulder and back at me.

"Nancy no one is in here." He said. "We're the only ones in here." His voice was slightly panicked.

I heard her voice again, and it was in the house, not in my ear. "Look behind you." I turned around, and I saw someone with a gun pointed right at my head. I jumped back, terrified by the events that just unrolled in the last few minutes. I fell back into Joe, the chair I was in falling over.

I tried to collect myself again, evening out my breathing.

"Nancy, what's wrong?" Joe asked me. "There isn't anyone in here, you're acting like a maniac."

"No there's someone with a gun." My voice was quiet. The person I couldn't quite make out the details of pulled the trigger. I heard a terribly loud gunshot, and it was aimed right at my head. I didn't feel any pain, but I covered my ears and started shaking.

"You're going crazy." I heard the voice again. "Crazy." The voice went sing song again, and it repeated over and over and over again. My senses dulled. I know I screamed something, but I just felt the syllables leaving my lips. I could hardly hear myself over the sound of the voice. "Get out of my head!"

I hardly heard Joe apologize, and I felt a weird pinching sensation on my neck. Everything blurred, and then went black.


	10. An Old Friend

There was a terrible ache in one of my ears. I groaned and opened my eyes; the light hurt my eyes and I had to squint to avoid my eyes hurting alongside my ears. I sat upright, and looked to my side. Joe was sitting next to me on the bed. "Who's in your head, Nancy?"

I shrugged. "Someone was messing with me." I told him. "I don't know, a women?"

He nodded. "You had some kind of break, Nancy. You don't ever break. What happened?"

"I don't know." I repeated. "There was a women's voice, and I saw someone with a gun. Someone was there, I swear someone was there."

He nodded, only slower this time. He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know if this mission is doing you any good, Nancy. Maybe it's getting to your head, making you over stressed and that's why you're acting like this."

I felt slightly insulted. "It's not in my head, Joe." I snapped. "Something is happening! You said it yourself; Jaclyn must be doing something. Anything, maybe she drugged me with some psychedelics. Or..something. Look, I don't know what's going on but I'm not going crazy if that's what you think."

He sighed. "No one was there, there weren't any people with guns and you were imagining the entire scenario."

I clenched my fists and glared at him. I'm not crazy. I saw what I did and I heard voices in my head. They were real and I know they were real. "What are you trying to do?"

"Protect you." He answered without hesitation. "You aren't an agent, you're an investigator. You have great abilities, you can do great things, but you can't handle certain aspects of missions like this. It gets to you; me and Frank had to go through a lot of mental training before we were allowed on the field like this, let alone on a mission of this scale."

"I don't need protection, Joe!" I exclaimed. "You think I need protection. I have this under control."

He bit his lip and sighed. "Look…" He was interrupted by a loud banging from across the house. It sounded like someone kicked the door in. He cursed under his breath and moved slowly to the door. He hardly poked his head out before he jumped back after getting punched. "Ow!"

I jumped up from the bed as someone ran past Joe; someone who had pretty gnarly muscles and an intimidating looking expression. His jaw was set and his eyes were in a partial glare. His lips were cracked and seemed to have a permanent scowl. He grabbed Joe by the arms when he was off guard and threw him into the wall adjacent them.

I ran right in front of the guy and swung my fist as hard as I could at his face. The shock reverberated through my entire arm and into my shoulder, and my knuckles hurt right as it impacted against his check bone. He grunted loudly, and fell straight to the ground. My whole arm hurt now, but I think I knocked his guy out in one blow. I

looked down at my shaking fist and smiled a little. "Not bad." Joe huffed in approval form where he was on the ground.

The guy landed right near him, and he was smiling at the unconscious goon. He got up, and his face became serious once again. "We have to make sure no one else ran in with this guy. Get your bag."

I grabbed my bag from the bedpost and left with him out the bedroom door. It didn't look like anyone else ran into the house with him. "There might be a car in the garage, some keys are probably lying around." I said. He nodded, and we started to walk forward when I was grabbed from behind, an arm around my throat and torso.

I thought I knocked him out! I felt cold metal against my neck, and I grabbed the guy's forearm. I couldn't breath very well and I had a knife to my throat; I'm not really doing too well. He whispered in my ear, "You punch pretty well for a girl."

I then felt a terrible pain in the side of my neck, then warmth running down and cooling at my shirt collar. I tried to keep calm during the ordeal, as he slowly ran his blade across my neck but I made weak cries in pain. He stopped before he could deal fatal damage, and then shoved me away from his torso.

I stumbled away and caught myself on the kitchen counter. I clenched my neck and squeezed my eyes shut. It only took a second before I felt something strange against my blood stained hand. It was hard, and I don't think there's anything like that in my neck.

I shakily felt it with my fingers. It hurt really badly, but it was just barely sticking out of the cut. I took a deep breath and pulled at it, hoping it wasn't actually a part of my body. I hissed in pain as I pulled it out of my skin. It's a microchip of sorts. Oh god. "Joe!" I shouted. "Joe!"

He had already ran back into the kitchen, and looked pretty surprised by my bleeding neck. He looked over to the side and saw the guy I supposedly knocked unconscious. They let at each other at the same moment, and Joe barely missed getting cut by the knife.

Joe ran the guy into the fridge and then slammed him over a counter. He threw keys at me. "Nancy, get into the garage. Now!" I nodded and ran through a small hallway and into a garage.

There were more people in the garage; one red haired women and one bald man. I pocketed the bloody microchip and prepared to fight. The women tried to kick my neck, right where the gash was. I luckily was able to dodge out of the way and I grabbed her ankle. I shoved her back and knocked her off balance.

The bald guy ran over and punched me in the stomach. I grunted and bent over, which gave me the chance to grab my hair in his fists. He yanked me upright and pressed me against the car.

He touched the cut, and I held back making a sound from the pain. Joe ran in just in time, and kicked the girl on the ground right in the jaw. She didn't get back up.

The bald man turned around and faced Joe. I started to move away when he elbowed me in the cheek. I felt more blood gush from the cut due to my sudden movement. I again pressed my hand over the cut and tried to stop it from bleeding nearly as bad.

Joe and the bald guy were fighting head to head, dodging each other movements and getting hit at the same ratio. I fumbled with the car door and got into the drivers seat.

I started up the car and locked all but one door. "Joe! Get in here!" I shouted, hoping he could hear something from inside the car. Joe looked over and the bald guy took advantage of that moment and knocked him over.

He took the guy down with him, and I noticed Joe getting up first. He ran over to the car and jumped into the passenger's side. He was breathing heavily. "Can you drive?" He didn't wait for me respond. "Just get out!"

He pressed a button and the garage door opened up. I backed out of the garage and drove as quickly as I could out into the snowy dirt road. I turned the SUV as quickly as I could manage in the muck to go down the mountain, almost hitting a black car parked in the driveway. "Are you hurt?" I asked Joe, flooring the gas pedal.

"I'm fine." He panted. "You're bleeding." He said. "You okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. Just a flesh wound. But I found something in my skin…"

"Nancy…" Joe said. Being completely sure he was going to question my sanity again, I interrupted him.

"No, seriously. My pocket. There's something in my pocket that was in my neck."

He sighed and awkwardly reached inside my pocket. He got a hold of the microchip and just stared at it for a second. "What's this? It was in your neck?" He looked at it closer, and turned it around between his fingers as he examined the strange thing. "This might be what was causing your freaky hallucinations."

"That's what I think." I said. I turned a corner and slammed on the breaks; someone was in the center of the road. I was hardly able to stop before I hit the mass laying on the ground. "Holy shit." I shouted.

Joe placed the chip on the dashboard and got out of the car. "Joe, wait!" I shouted. "They could be chasing us." He didn't listen to me, so I got out of the car, too.

The car was really close to this guy. It's a miracle that I didn't run him over. He had a tattered green jacket and pretty wet, half frozen jeans. He seemed to be bleeding from different areas, too. I noticed blood on his jeans. He had brown hair, and was laying face down, his forehead on top of one arm.

Joe knelt down, and touched the guy's shoulder. He turned him over to get him onto his back, and his eyes widened. "Oh my god." His eyes started welling up with tears. "Frank."


End file.
